1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to technology for billing a job executed by an image processing apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, to perform billing calculation and billing management of an image processing job executed by an image processing apparatus such as an MFP (Multifunction Peripheral) or the like, a billing table (a file structured as a table in which various items to be billed during billing calculation are correlated with parameter values indicating respective billing amounts) is downloaded from a billing management server to the image processing apparatus, and billing calculation is performed by the image processing apparatus according to the billing table, either before executing the job, or in parallel with the execution of the job. This enables stopping execution of the job in advance, for example before a number of pages to be printed exceeds a budget, and preventing execution of a job that would exceed the budget.
Also, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-67451 discloses a method for acquiring information indicating a number of pages printed or a use amount of a consumable product such as toner by the image processing apparatus, transmitting the acquired information via e-mail to the billing management server after the job is executed, and performing billing according to the information.
As image processing apparatuses such as MFPs become more highly powered and highly functioning, settings to be determined by a user when executing an image processing job also become more detailed and multi-branched. Accordingly, the quantities and types of information used for billing calculation of the image processing job increase, and the file size of the billing table also increases. As a result, when conventional billing calculation is performed in parallel with execution of the job, the load on the CPU is increased and the processing time is lengthened. When the image processing apparatus is equipped with a high-powered CPU to solve this problem, increased cost is an issue.
On the other hand, to perform accurate billing according to detailed information pertaining to the image processing job, while suppressing the increased load on the CPU and lengthened processing time, billing calculation can be performed, as in Patent Document 1, after execution of the job rather than in parallel with the execution of the job. However, when this method is used, management cannot be performed in advance to keep the billing amount within a budget, and there is a risk of executing an image processing job that greatly exceeds the amount that can be paid by the user.